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Top Five Elk Lessons Part 1

Out of clean clothes, out of energy and out of time, but we had done it. My father and I were on hour 13 of 15 as the 120lb. head and antlers of his 11th hour bull dug the straps of my pack frame into my shell of a body.

I want my ol’ man to be able to hunt with me as long as possible, so naturally I volunteered to pack the hams and head of his bull which we scored at 339 P&Y.

Ten days of hiking ten or more miles per day and our 2015 Wilderness, DIY, Father-Son, Archery Elk Double was complete. 8:45 day 1 I found redemption in the elk mountains after a long six year wait. My father arrowed his bull at 10:56 day 10 to cap off a tough yet magical week in the elk wilderness.

The wilderness is a brutal teacher and allows one ample time to reflect on life, love, and the hunt. While we waited for the wrangler to arrive with the mules to start the long journey home, reflection on the lessons learned filled my pages with notes.

While there are far too many to relay, I narrowed my top Five lessons down into two blogs.